Waking The Witch

Kelley Armstrong has been one of those writer's I've been meaning to read for ages, - now I realise what a shame it is that I haven't read one of her books sooner. I was delighted to receive an ARC of her latest Otherworld series book 'Waking the Witch' for reviewing on this site.

The story of this book centres around a prominent character in the series called Savannah, a young witch whom readers met in Kelley's second book in this series and became a huge hit with fans. Although this is the eleventh book in the series, Kelley wrote in such a way that I instantly was able to pick up the storyline. Although I didn't know the ins and outs of everything in Kelley's universe, she was able to portray enough information so I wasn't lost. I was expecting to find reading this book difficult because I thought I would be confused and not be able to connect with the characters. But I found this to be such a fun read, and the characters are so vivid and real that I connected with them immediately. I have to applaud Kelley Armstrong for her ability to provide the necessary backstory in an effortless way which doesn't tax the reader, - she reminds readers of the series but also helps new readers find their footing.

I loved the character of Savannah and I can see why she has such a huge fanbase. She's a strong young woman who is independent, stubborn, brave but most importantly is flawed. Although Savannah is a witch, can kick ass and uses magic, you never feel the 'mary sue' factor. I don't know the background of her life in great detail yet through Kelley's writing I can see the reasons for her motivations, actions and feelings and never felt I 'had to' like the character.

The only real issue I had with this book was the ending,

*spoiler alert*

which does require (even though you get the gist) some previous reading of the series. I felt that the twist in this book would have impacted on me more if I had recognised the villain (who appeared in previous books). Overall though this book was a hugely enjoyable page turner - even for a newbie like myself! I think fans of the previous books won't be disappointed either and will probably enjoy this book even more (especially the relationship between Savannah and Adam which is handled so well)

Considering this is 11th in a series, and is still written so well with great characters and sharp wit - I know what I'm going to spending my wages on in the future. It's so nice to find a new author with eleven books (and another series too) to read :)

Hopefully another book will be appearing soon about Savannah (and Adam)

Hint hint Ms. Armstrong ;)